Transfer Planning

Admission to the university as a community college transfer is a cost-effective way to earn your bachelor's degree. A successful transfer requires thoughtful research and planning to make sure you've satisfied the requirements for your intended major. UC Davis and the University of California offer several resources to help you position yourself for admission to a UC campus, starting with the UC Transfer Admission Planner, an online tool designed to help you plan and track your coursework.

UC Transfer Admission Planner (TAP)

The University of California Transfer Admission Planner (UC TAP) tracks coursework for students who wish to transfer to a UC campus from any California community college. The UC TAP helps students track their progress toward meeting minimum UC requirements and allows UC staff to communicate important information to prospective transfer students. The UC TAP is also your application for a Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) at any of six UC campuses, including UC Davis. And once you're ready to submit your UC application, the UC TAP will port over most of your information!

Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG)

The UC Davis TAG program offers transfer students a guarantee of admission to UC Davis, one year in advance, in their major of choice. The agreement, available at all California community colleges, is prepared online by the student and submitted in September, one year before his/her planned enrollment at UC Davis.

Transfer Opportunity Program (TOP)

TOP is a cooperative effort between UC Davis and many Northern California community colleges. TOP advisers from Undergraduate Admissions regularly visit participating colleges to provide information about UC Davis admission and selection, major preparation, general education, financial aid, housing and many other important student services.

UC Transfer Pathways

Visit uctransfer.universityofcalifornia.edu and Transfer Pathways to learn more about transferring to the University of California from a California community college and how you can maximize your chances of being admitted. With guidance from the Transfer Pathways roadmap, you can keep your options open for the most popular UC majors.

ASSIST and Transferable Coursework

Identify which California community college courses will transfer or fulfill requirements for admission, general education or your major with the ASSIST website. ASSIST is the official articulation database for California's public colleges and universities and provides the most accurate and up-to-date information about student transfer in California.

If you are attending a college other than a California community college, you can determine which courses may be UC-transferable by comparing your college's course descriptions with similar courses at UC Davis or at another UC campus. If the descriptions match, the coursework is most likely UC-transferable. After you apply to UC Davis, our admission advisers will evaluate your transcripts to arrive at a final determination of which courses are transferable.

Selecting a General Education Pattern

IGETC or UC Davis GE

Which one is right for you?

If you plan to enter a UC Davis selective major, we recommend that you complete the UC Davis General Education (GE) pattern after transferring. It is critical, while in community college, to complete courses required for your UC Davis major. You may take UC Davis-comparable general education courses as your schedule allows, and complete the UC Davis GE pattern after transferring to UC Davis.

If you plan to complete a UC Davis Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree or other high-unit major, a great deal of lower-division course preparation is often required and we recommend that you complete the UC Davis GE pattern after transferring. You may take UC Davis-comparable general education courses as your schedule allows, and complete the UC Davis GE pattern after transferring to UC Davis.

If you plan to complete a UC Davis Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) degree in the College of Biological Sciences or in the College of Letters and Science, you can use the IGETC pattern to fulfill campus GE requirements and college foreign language requirements. With some exceptions, students choosing the IGETC pattern should complete it before transferring to UC Davis and submit a certificate of completion after admission.

Learn more about the UC Davis GE

An important decision you'll make while preparing to transfer concerns your selection of a general education (GE) pattern—those courses required for graduation that guarantee a well-rounded education. You have two choices:

IGETC (Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum), or

UC Davis GE

Your decision will depend upon how much lower division preparation is required for your UC Davis major—the box at right provides some guidelines to help you choose a GE pattern. Please keep in mind that completion of a general education pattern is required for graduation, but is not required for admission to UC Davis.

IGETC is a pattern of courses designed to allow California community college students to complete their general education requirements before transferring to a UC campus or a California State University (CSU) campus. With some exceptions, students choosing the IGETC pattern should complete it while at a California community college in order for the pattern to fulfill all general education requirements that can be met with lower-division courses. Once you're admitted to UC Davis, but before you enroll in classes, you should submit a certificate of IGETC completion to UC Davis Undergraduate Admissions.

The UC Davis GE pattern is required of transfer students from institutions other than California community colleges and those not completing the IGETC pattern.